AVEVA’s update previews revenue growth in F17

AVEVA today gave an update on its performance for the fiscal year that ended 31 March 2017. And it was, as usual, a terse 2-sentence statement:

The Board is pleased to report that the Group’s results, assisted by positive currency translation effects, show a return to growth in both revenue and profit. The Board anticipates that the results will be broadly in line with market expectations and that cash generation will be ahead of expectations with the Group closing the year with cash of approximately £130 million.

So, what can we read into this? “Market expectations” seem to be revenue of £215 million to £220 million — if AVEVA reports in that range, that would pretty good given that a lot of oil and gas projects are still moving ahead very, very slowly, pending a return to higher crude prices. If AVEVA reports revenue of £215 million, that would be top line growth of 7%. AVEVA does say that it saw positive effects from currency, which means constant currency growth will be a few points lower.

“Cash generation ahead of expectations” means that AVEVA has been able to get customers to pay earlier, has seen more recurring revenue than it thought likely, or has better managed costs — or all three. In any case, it’s a good thing.

We’ll know a lot more when AVEVA announces its results on 23 May 2017. Tune in then!